After I got back from the APS conference in November, I feverishly worked to get my paper written and submitted ... because I was determined to take some vacation time and visit my boys! (By the way, many thanks to my sister Heather and to my husband Curtis for picking up the slack with the dogs while I was at the conference. I couldn't have done it without either one of you!)
Harley, Holly, Lars and I left the Friday before Thanksgiving week, November 19 (my brother Rob's birthday!). Our first stop: San Luis Obispo, to spend some time with Jake. Now, taking a road trip with Harley and Holly is easy. They are fabulous in the car. It isn't that Lars is bad in the car, he just gets terribly car sick. So, I didn't feed the dogs in the morning, and Lars did quite well on the way to SLO. He had yucky droolies coming out of his mouth, but thankfully, no vomit. Yay!
It takes about three hours to get from our house to Jake's house. I am thankful that he is closer than he has been (it is an eight hour road trip to San Diego, which is where he has been for the last six years), but I wish he was even closer! We got to his place mid-afternoon, and of course it was raining.
Jake and I walked the dogs in the rain all around downtown San Luis Obispo, then we went and ate during the pouring rain. After that, we walked the dogs in the pouring rain, and then we went to see the just-released Harry Potter movie! It was a good movie, but I had three anxious, car-bound dogs by the time the movie was over. So -- yes -- we went for another walk before we headed back to our hotel.
Saturday morning dawned bright and beautiful. Jake was at work (he works at the Sycamore Springs Resort and Spa in Avila Beach, just south of SLO). The dogs and I walked around a nearby lake, and then headed to Avila Beach, where we took Jake some lunch. There are walking trails behind the hotel, that go up to the top of the coastal mountains, overlooking the coast. So -- Harley, Holly, Lars and I went up to the top. Look at how beautiful our coastline is!
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| A view of the Avila Beach pier from atop the mountains just south of San Luis Obispo. |
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| Looking west out over the Pacific from the coastal mountains above Avila Beach. |
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| Looking south from the coastal mountains above Avila Beach. |
Then , I decided that the dogs needed to pose for some pictures. It was such a beautiful day, and I wanted to capture the moment! Here they are:
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| From left to right: Holly, Lars and Harley overlooking the California coast from mountains above Avila Beach. |
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| From left to right: Teensy-Weensy Baby Lars, Holly and Harley. |
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| Our GSDs. They are so gorgeous! |
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| Holly, Harley and Lars. November 20, 2010, Avila Beach, CA |
After Jake got off work, we drove in to Avila Beach and had a bite to eat. The one thing I regret is that I didn't get a picture of Jake while we were visiting him! Oh well, if you stay tuned for my Christmas blog, (yes I will get there eventually) -- I will have pictures of him there.
Harley, Holly, Lars and I left for Los Angeles around 5:00 P.M. We drove to my Mom and Dad's house, and had dinner with them. The next day, after walking the dogs around the lake and getting the car packed up, we headed for San Diego to see Andrew, Tanya, and Dexter. We checked into our hotel, and headed for Andrew's apartment. The dogs were so happy to see him, and to see Tanya!
Andrew has a great set-up, as right behind his apartment there is a dog area. So he can take Dexter outside, just walk a few feet, and have him go to the bathroom! It is very convenient, and seems to be working well.
After all of the dogs got re-acquainted with Dexter, we decided to take a walk around the nearby lake. It was getting very cold, so we bundled up and headed off. We had walked for about an hour, when we found that we couldn't go any further. So - we basically had to backtrack, and we ended up walking around 7 miles that evening. At least the dogs were tired enough to sleep while we went out to dinner!
The next day, we visited two dog parks. We wanted to go to the dog beach, but it had been raining, and apparently it isn't safe to take your dog there right after it rains, because of the stuff that washes down the San Diego river right into the ocean (which is where the dog beach is located). So, in the morning we headed to El Cajon dog park, which was very nice. Guess what! I was able to let Holly off the leash, and there weren't any problems with her! All she wanted to do was retrieve the tennis ball, and hang out with me!
This is a really big step for Holly. I actually didn't think we would ever get to this point, but we did! She did great. Dexter and Lars were busy being puppies, and Harley was a little social butterfly.
The dogs did so well, that before it got dark we took them to the Balboa Dog Park. Again, everybody did very well, including Holly. I still put the shock collar on her, but I am very pleased with her progress. The goal was to wear everybody out so that I could cook a spaghetti dinner and we could watch a movie at Andrew's place. Our plan worked, and we had a very nice evening.
Both nights we were in San Diego, Harley stayed with Andrew and Dexter. He was so happy to be with Andrew and Tanya -- just like the gool 'ole days for him. Harley and Dexter got along just fine, which is great. No fights over Andrew!
Andrew has a great set-up, as right behind his apartment there is a dog area. So he can take Dexter outside, just walk a few feet, and have him go to the bathroom! It is very convenient, and seems to be working well.
After all of the dogs got re-acquainted with Dexter, we decided to take a walk around the nearby lake. It was getting very cold, so we bundled up and headed off. We had walked for about an hour, when we found that we couldn't go any further. So - we basically had to backtrack, and we ended up walking around 7 miles that evening. At least the dogs were tired enough to sleep while we went out to dinner!
The next day, we visited two dog parks. We wanted to go to the dog beach, but it had been raining, and apparently it isn't safe to take your dog there right after it rains, because of the stuff that washes down the San Diego river right into the ocean (which is where the dog beach is located). So, in the morning we headed to El Cajon dog park, which was very nice. Guess what! I was able to let Holly off the leash, and there weren't any problems with her! All she wanted to do was retrieve the tennis ball, and hang out with me!
This is a really big step for Holly. I actually didn't think we would ever get to this point, but we did! She did great. Dexter and Lars were busy being puppies, and Harley was a little social butterfly.
The dogs did so well, that before it got dark we took them to the Balboa Dog Park. Again, everybody did very well, including Holly. I still put the shock collar on her, but I am very pleased with her progress. The goal was to wear everybody out so that I could cook a spaghetti dinner and we could watch a movie at Andrew's place. Our plan worked, and we had a very nice evening.
Both nights we were in San Diego, Harley stayed with Andrew and Dexter. He was so happy to be with Andrew and Tanya -- just like the gool 'ole days for him. Harley and Dexter got along just fine, which is great. No fights over Andrew!
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| A contented Harley snuggles with his Andrew. |
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| Andrew and Tanya play video games with help from Harley and Dexter. |
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| Holly and Lars hanging out at Andrew's apartment. |
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| Lars and Dexter at Andrew's apartment. |
Tuesday morning, we got up, checked out of our hotel, and did a little shopping a Fashion Valley Mall before we headed for the Anderson's place in Temecula. I was so excited that I would be getting to spend some time with Bethie, and that I would get to see our beautiful Bella!
We got to their home in the early afternoon. Our first task was to show Harley, Holly, and Lars the dog run, and let them know that the dog run is where they relieve themselves. Then we slowly introduced them to Bella, Daisy (their golden retriever), and to Zoe (their miniature dachshund). Wow -- six dogs -- and they did great! I was very pleased with how well everybody was getting along, and so were Beth and Mike.
Next, Beth and I went in search of the dog park, taking Harley, Holly, Lars and Bella. The dog park was closed for renovation, so we ended up at a park with a huge grassy area where we let the dogs off leash to chase the tennis ball and frisbee. They had a blast, and we did our best to wear them out. Then we headed back to the Anderson complex to get dinner going.
I was extremely impressed with the six dogs. After exercise, and after they ate, I lined them all up on dog beds, halfway between the kitchen and the living room. They all "parked it" on their beds while Beth, Mike and I ate dinner!!! How cool is that?
The next day dawned bright and beautiful, and Beth and I took the dogs on a number of walks, first around the neighborhood, and then we "walked the perimeter" of their property a number of times. I ran the dogs up and down their driveway several times as well, which definitely calmed them down! (Their driveway is very long and very steep!)
That afternoon, we waited for Andrew, Tanya, and Dexter to show up, so that we could caravan back to Los Angeles together. In the meantime, here are some pictures I took:
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| At the Anderson's, Wednesday, November 24, 2010. From left to right: the ever-faithful Holly, beautiful Bella, teensy-weensy baby Lars, and our Harley. |
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| Beth with Holly, Bella, Harley, and Lars. I love this picture! |
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| Denise with Harley, Lars, Holly and Bella. Not as good as Bethie's picture with the dogs! |
Andrew, Tanya, and Dexter arrived, and we introduced Dexter to the dog pack. The dogs were very busy chasing one another around the backyard, and then we took them all on another walk around the perimeter. Everybody was finally calm enough that we could take some pictures! Notice how much Bella and Dexter look alike, and how much they look like Harley!
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| At the Anderson's. From left to right: Andrew, Dexter,Tanya, Harley, Melissa with Zoe, Bella, Holly, Beth and Lars! |
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| Take Two: Andrew with Dexter, Tanya with Harley, Melissa with Zoe, Holly, and Beth with Daisy and Lars. |
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| Take Three: Andrew holding Dexter, Tanya, Harley, Melissa holding Zoe, Bella, Holly, Beth, Daisy and Lars. Lars is distracted! |
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| Denise finally gets in the picture! Denise with Holly and Harley, Tanya with Dexter, Melissa with Zoe, Bella, and Beth with Daisy and Lars. |
It's time to hit the road, and try to beat the traffic back to Los Angeles. Beth and I say our goodbyes, and Andrew takes a picture of us. Beth, here's to all of the fun times we have had, and here's to having many more!
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| Denise and Beth -- friends forever! |
We arrive in Los Angeles, and it is time to get ready for Thanksgiving. Curtis is flying in the next morning (Thanksgiving morning), and we need to wear the dogs out, as with Heather and her family at Mom and Dad's as well as me, there are five dogs! Harley, Holly, Gidget, Lars and Dexter.
Oh my! Will my Mom and Dad survive our visit! Stay tuned for our Thanksgiving happenings in my next blog update! Then I will go back to mid-November, and detail our first visit to the Arroyo. Thanks for your patience with me as I get caught up!
